Sherry Murphy Elected President of Carolina Patent Trademark Copyright Law Association
Myers Bigel is proud to announce that attorney Sherry L. Murphy has been elected president of the Carolina Patent Trademark Copyright Law Association (CPTCLA), the oldest legal association dedicated to practitioners of Intellectual Property law in North and South Carolina.
The organization hosts bi-annual meetings and continuing legal education (CLE) seminars, attracting speakers from all over the globe to discuss patent, trademark and copyright legal issues.
“It’s essential that our team of attorneys keep up with changes in securing, enforcing, and invalidating patents brought on by governing bodies like the USPTO and the federal court system, Federal Circuit trademark registration decisions, and legislation like the America Invents Act,” David Purks, managing partner, said, adding, “Organizations like the Carolina Patent Trademark Copyright Law Association are actively engaged in important legal issues such as these and we’re thrilled that Sherry will be contributing her knowledge and leadership as President.”
Debuting in 2011, the AIA switched the patent system in the United States from first-to-invent to first-inventor-to-file, generating a good deal of controversy and confusion since main provisions of the Act went into effect in 2012-2013. Patent reform legislation in the wake of the AIA is underway, as Congress is acting in an attempt to address allegations of the improper issuance of a number of “nuisance” patents which may result in patent litigation becoming significantly more costly for technology companies fighting such patents.
The AIA is one of many legal issues addressed by CPTCLA in its CLE seminars; the Spring 2015 CLE included presentations on protecting proprietary information and U.S. and international design patent prosecution strategies, while previous seminars have addressed copyright litigation, ethical issues in intellectual property law, licensing agreements and copyright termination.
“CPTCLA is a non-profit organization dedicated to intellectual property scholarship, and is run by practitioners, for the benefit of practitioners,” Murphy said, adding, “Our seminars cover a wide range of cutting edge intellectual property issues, and it is an honor for me to be a part of it.”
Murphy is a member of the Myers Bigel biotechnology and chemical patent practice groups, along with fellow attorneys Erin Bobay, Alice Bonnen, Shawna Lemon, Mary Miller, Rob Schwartzman, Ken Sibley and Charles Yang. In her role, Murphy counsels clients on the procurement of patent protection in the U.S. and internationally, and assists in freedom to operate and due diligence review for their innovations. She has extensive experience with a variety of inventions, including small molecule pharmaceuticals, personalized medicine, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering and medical devices.
Murphy graduated from Oberlin College, magna cum laude, B.A. in neuroscience, with a focus on molecular biology, chemistry and mathematics, and received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of San Francisco, with CALI awards in patent law and international intellectual property.